Solofest Playbill 2021
PLAYGROUND
SOLO PERFORMANCE FESTIVAL
January 22, 2021 7 PM PT
Memory Tricks
by Marga Gomez
The Bride: How to Take Every Wrong Turn and End in the Right Place
by Chris Steele (AKA Pollly Amber Ross)
—————————————————————————————————————————-
Saturday, January 23, 2021, 7pm PT
Beethoven and Misfortune Cookies
Written & directed by Joni Ravenna
Performed by Rayshawn Chism
Original direction by Allison Bergman
Diane M. Barnes in Not One of Us
Written & performed by Diane M. Barnes
Directed by David Ford
—————————————————————————————————————————-
Sunday, January 24, 2021, 7pm PT
What They Said About Sex
Written & performed by Steve Budd
The Slutty Virgin: A Musical Comedy
Written & performed by Caroline Hawthorne
—————————————————————————————————————————-
Friday, January 29, 2021, 7pm PT
Thrillrider: Sara Moore’s Greatest Hits Vol. 2
Written & performed by Sara Toby Moore
F L I G H T
Written by Neiry Rojo
Performed by Melissa Ortiz
Directed by Christian Haines
—————————————————————————————————————————-
Saturday, January 30, 2021, 7pm PT
The Slutty Virgin: A Musical Comedy
Written & performed by Catherine Hawthorne
The Painter’s Oubliette
Written & directed by Christopher Magee
Performed by Mars Magee
—————————————————————————————————————————-
Sunday, January 31, 2021, 7pm PT
Beethoven and Misfortune Cookies
Written & directed by Joni Ravenna
Performed by Rayshawn Chism
Original direction by Allison Bergman
Grandma’s Hands
Written & performed by Carla Vega
Directed by Shyamala Moorty
—————————————————————————————————————————-
Friday, February 5, 2021, 7pm PT
Not One of Us
Written & performed by Diane M. Barnes
Directed by David Ford
Grandma’s Hands
Written & performed by Carla Vega
Directed by Shyamala Moorty
—————————————————————————————————————————-
Saturday, February 6, 2021, 7pm PT
What They Said About Sex
Written & performed by Steve Budd
F L I G H T
Written by Neiry Rojo
Performed by Melissa Ortiz
Directed by Christian Haines
—————————————————————————————————————————-
Sunday, February 7, 2021, 7pm PT
The Bride: How to Take Every Wrong Turn and End in the Right Place
Written & performed by Chris Steele (AKA Polly Amber Ross)
The Painter’s Oubliette
Written & directed by Christopher Magee
Performed by Mars Magee
—————————————————————————————————————————-
Stage Manager: Annie Tillis
PlayGround is a member of Theatre Bay Area and Theatre Communications Group,
and an Associate Member of the National New Play Network (NNPN).
BIOGRAPHIES
DIANE BARNES (Not One of Us, writer/performer), she/her, is an actor, writer and speaker. Her award winning solo show, My Stroke of Luck, developed with David Ford, shared her story of stroke, recovery and reinvention as a single mother and working physician. Extended multiple times at The Marsh, it has played internationally, and at numerous theater festivals. Barnes is a Meisner-trained actor and BATS trained improvisor. She completed the Global Identities Workshop with Anna Deveare Smith, ACT Summer Intensives and Berkeley Rep Spring Intensive. She is a graduate of Stanford University and the Yale University School of Medicine, with postdoc training at UCSF and Stanford.
ALLISON BERGMAN (Beethoven & Misfortune Cookies, original director), she/her, has directed over 40 stage productions on both coasts, including large musicals and world premieres. Her latest film project has garnered a 2020 Accolade Global Award of Merit. A highly sought-after dramaturg, Ms. Bergman has helped notable writers and producers develop new scripts and adapt popular movies for Broadway and international production. Her book Acting the Song is widely used in theatre training programs as a textbook and a teacher’s guide. Ms. Bergman is a member of Directors Lab West and a proud graduate of Carnegie Mellon and Boston University. Please visit www.allisonbergman.com.
STEVE BUDD (What They Said About Sex, writer/performer), he/him, is an actor, writer, storyteller, standup comic, and award-winning solo performer. Steve has performed with the San Francisco Playhouse, Custom Made Theatre, New Conservatory Theatre, Central Works, Marin Shakespeare, and The English Theatre Company of Israel. He’s appeared at the Punch Line, Tommy T’s, and Rooster T Feathers. His solo show “What They Said About Love” enjoyed an extended run at The Marsh in 2018 and was chosen as a Top 5 Solo Show by Theatre Bay Area. Steve has toured the show in NYC, Boston, Indianapolis, Portland, L.A., Ottawa, and London.
RAYSHAWN CHISM (Beethoven & Misfortune Cookies, performer), he/him, has been performing since 2011. He has appeared in over 20 stage productions throughout Los Angeles. Also he has appeared in multiple web series and short films, which has garnered him 2 awards. Rayshawn is grateful for the opportunity to be part of such an astounding piece.
MARGA GOMEZ (Memory Tricks, writer/performer), is a teaching artist, comedian and writer/performer of thirteen solo plays which have been presented nationally, internationally, and at Bay Area venues. Since the pandemic Gomez has applied herself to adapting solo theatre from stage to the virtual medium, being featured in several online theater festivals from New York to San Diego. In 2020 she was awarded a grant by Center For Cultural Innovation to launch her first radio play. Gomez offers one-to-one coaching for virtual performance. Information can be found at margagomez.com.
CHRISTIAN HAINES (Flight, director), he/him, is the founding Artistic Director of AmiosNYC and ShotzSF in San Francisco. Directing credits: Ripcord (Altarena), Bus Stop, Boeing Boeing (RVP), The Guys (Pear) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Tides), A Message (Arabian Shakes), Heroes and Other Strangers (Best of Fringe NYC). MFA in acting from the National Theatre Conservatory. Love to family, friends and Melissa.
CAROLINE HAWTHORNE (The Slutty Virgin: A Musical Comedy, writer/performer), is an actress, singer, and comedian from Los Angeles, California. She has performed in many artistic mediums, from opera to Shakespeare to stand-up. She also wrote the satirical advice column “The Crazy Kazoo Lady”. She was recently an apprentice at the Commonweal Theatre Company, where she sound designed and acted in “The Fox”. She is a graduate of Oklahoma City University for acting and Los Angeles County High School for the Arts for classical voice. Check out her podcast “The Gays, the Goys, and the Jews” as well as her YouTube channel “CaroltheComic.”
CHRISTOPHER MAGEE (The Painter’s Oubliette, playwright/director), is the co-founder and Artistic Director for the Moonrisers theatre company and a member of PlayGround’s writers’ pool. His most recent play, Baboons in the Night, premiered in PlayGround’s Innovator showcase last year. He is from Montana.
MARS MAGEE (The Painter’s Oubliette, performer), he/him, is co-founder of Moonrisers theatre company. He loves monkeys, bees, D&D, pirates, rum, cryptids, witchcraft and English lawn bowling. However, he’s thinking about giving all that up to reenact classic westerns with the stuffed animals in his room.
SARA TOBY MOORE (Thrillrider: Sara Moore’s Greatest Hots Vol. 2, writer/performer), she/they, is a physical comic, poet, actor, multi-award winner, “action librettist” and character morpher. Sara “Toby” Moore has been on the scene in San Francisco for over 2 decades creating and performing material in an ever-expanding variety of theatres & circuses. Prior to this she ran the gamut from Ringling Bros. Circus to the Merv Griffin’s Casino to Off-Broadway. She’s “Boss Clown” at Circus Center where she trains people in human animation. She was damn lucky in 2019 to squeeze two shows in before lockdown, “Atomic Clown” at Potrero Stage and “The Supers” at Z Space, both pushing the boundaries of what American clowning can be.
SHYMALA MOORTY (Grandma’s Hands, director), she/her, is a director, writer and choreographer who is dedicated to healing, connecting, and transforming individuals and communities. She is a founding member of the Post Natyam Collective and The Dancing Storytellers, and has performed across the U.S. as well as in Canada, Europe and India. As a director, Shyamala specializes in nurturing and growing the visions of multi-disciplinary solo artists. Please visit her website at www.shyamalamoorty.com
JONI RAVEENA (Beethoven & Misfortune Cookies, writer/director), she/her, is an award-winning playwright, TV writer and journalist. She is also the co-writer of “You Let Some GIRL Beat You? – The Story of Ann Meyers Drysdale” which Forbes called, “A stunning portrayal of one of today’s legendary women’s basketball treasures.” In November, 2020, PIPELINE Book Adaptation named it runner-up to the winner out of over 1700 published Books. They are currently pursuing a film deal.
NEIRY ROJO (Flight, playwright), she/her, is a theatre artist interested in finding ways to challenge the status quo in the theatre industry. She has most recently worked as an actress with OurDigitalStories, PlayGround Zoom Fest, and Central Works. She has previously worked with San Francisco Playhouse, Z Space, Marin Theatre Company, Livermore Shakespeare Company, Santa Cruz Shakespeare, PianoFight, and more. She has directed for ShotzSF, PlayGround Zoom Fest, and Ross Valley Players. She has worked as a teaching artist with American Conservatory Theatre and is a PlayGround company member. Theatre belongs to all. Black Lives Matter.
CHRIS STEELE (The Bride: How to Take Every Wrong Turn and End in the Right Place, writer/performer), they/them, is a queer trans-nonbinary performance artist, writer, activist, and horror enthusiast. Their work centers on highlighting queer narratives throughout history and combating bigotry and white supremacy. They’re a co-founder of Poltergeist Theatre Project: a queer theater collective, and their award-winning drag personas Polly Amber Ross & Peter Pansexual can be found on instagram @pollyandpeter.
CARLA VEGA (Grandma’s Hands, performer), she/her, is a multi-disciplinary performing artist based in Los Angeles, with roots in San Francisco. Her 20+ years of local and international experience includes acting on stages and screen, writing poetry & solo shows, singing, martial arts/ dance/ yoga, teaching and spirit. She is a company member of PlaygroundLA Theatre Co., Los Angeles Playback Theatre Co., Kaiser Permanente’s CareActors, TeAda Productions teaching artist & collaborator/singer/actor with Great Leap, Inc. Carla believes in the power of the performing arts and storytelling as catalysts for healing, inspiration, compassion & positive social change & justice.
PRODUCTION & STAFF
ALDO BILLINGSLEA (Associate Producer), a long-time PlayGround Company Member, has worked with PlayGround as actor, director, script reader and board member. As an actor, he has worked throughout the Bay with Cal Shakes, TheatreWorks, Marin Theatre Company, Aurora Theatre Company, Center Rep, and Marin Shakespeare. He has served on boards with Arabian Shakespeare, Gritty City Youth Repertory and the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre where he also served as Interim Artistic Director. Aldo is the Father William J. Rewak S.J. Professor of Theatre Arts at Santa Clara University.
ANNIE TILLIS (Stage Manager), she/her, is thrilled to be returning to the virtual world with Playground’s fourth annual Solo Performance Festival! Tillis has been spotted in or around the booth for a wide array of live performances around the Bay Area, including circus, straight theatre, musical theatre, dance, and devised work. She has accepted her starving artist lifestyle and openly admits her addiction to the performing arts. If not in a dark windowless room, one can often find her lounging in the sun, drinking a glass of wine, or dancing through life. She would like to thank all those who support her and her trying addict lifestyle, including her boyfriend, her family and friends, and her cat. Covid-19 will not stop ART!
ANNIE STUART (Associate Artistic Director) has served as casting director for PlayGround for the past twenty-one seasons. In 2005, she was named PlayGround’s first Associate Director, recognizing her increased producing responsibilities, and was recently named Associate Artistic Director. As a freelance casting director, her other credits include Marin Theatre Company, Center REP, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, San Francisco and Los Angeles Shakespeare Festivals, Brava! for Women In The Arts, Theatre Rhinoceros, and Z Space Studio, among others. For the camera, she has cast Falcon Crest, An Inconvenient Woman, Midnight Caller and The Two Mrs. Grenvilles. She has taught at San Jose State University, The Bennett Theatre Lab, Center REP, the College of Marin, Marin Theatre Company and for Theatre Bay Area.
PLAYGROUND, California’s leading playwright incubator, provides unique development opportunities for the Bay Area’s (and now Los Angeles’) best new playwrights, including the monthly Monday Night PlayGround staged reading series, annual PlayGround Festival of New Works, full-length play commissions and support for the production of new plays by local playwrights through the New Play Production Fund. To date, PlayGround has supported over 200 early career playwrights, developing and staging more than 850 of their original short plays through the Monday Night PlayGround staged reading series and the PlayGround Festival. PlayGround has also commissioned 85 new full-length plays by 55 of these writers through its Commissioning Initiative and, through the innovative New Play Production Fund, has directly facilitated the premiere of 30 plays at theatres of every size, including three that have gone on to NYC and other major theater communities. Most recently, PlayGround renovated and relaunched the former Thick House Theater in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill as Potrero Stage, a state-of-the-art center for new plays, home to PlayGround’s expanding artistic programs and some of the Bay Area’s most distinguished new play developers and producers. Over the past twenty-four years, PlayGround has served to identify some of the most important new local voices for the theatre. PlayGround’s alumni have gone on to win local, national, and international honors for their short and full-length work, including recognition at the Humana Festival, O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, The Lark’s Playwrights’ Week, New York International Fringe Festival, and others. PlayGround received the 2009 Paine Knickerbocker Award for outstanding contributions to Bay Area theatre, 3 BATCC Awards for Best Original Script for PlayGround commissions, a 2014 National Theatre Company Grant from the American Theatre Wing (founder of the Tony Awards®), and a 2016 Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. Visit https://PlayGround-sf.org for more information.
POTRERO STAGE is a 99-seat state-of-the-art performance space located in the heart of San Francisco’s Potrero Hill neighborhood, operated by PlayGround, and serving as home to some of the Bay Area’s leading new play developers and producers, including PlayGround, Crowded Fire, Golden Thread, and Playwrights Foundation, among others. While the venue is closed during the COVID pandemic, Potrero Stage will highlight the best in online programming by PlayGround, Potrero Stage resident companies and other Potrero Stage producers. For more information, visit https://potrerostage.org.
PLAYGROUND CONTRIBUTORS
PlayGround is deeply grateful for the generous contributions of the many individuals, foundations, gifts of $125 or more committed between October 1, 2019 & October 19, 2020.
GOVERNMENT, CORPORATE, & FOUNDATION DONORS
Alameda County Arts Commission • Amazon • Art Space Development Corporation • Berkeley Civic Arts • The Bernard Osher Foundation • Bill Graham Supporting Foundation of the Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund • California Arts Council • Creative Capacity Fund • The Fleishhacker Foundation • Goldman Sachs • Grants For The Arts • Koret Foundation • Lenore & Howard Klein Foundation • The Leo J. & Celia Carlin Fund • Negley Flinn Charitable Foundation • NIAC • Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation • Planet Earth Arts • San Francisco Arts Commission • The Shenson Foundation • The Shubert Foundation • Stanford University • The Tournesol Project • Voluntary Arts Contribution Fund • The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation • Zellerbach Family Foundation
INDIVIDUAL SUPPORTERS
SEASON SPONSORS ($5000+)
William Bivins, Emilie T. & Gordon C. Brooks, Daniel E. Cohn & Lynn Brinton, Jerome Joseph Gentes & Michael David Bourque, Regina S. Guggenheim, Jim Kleinmann & Lara Gilman, David Steele
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS ($2500–$4,999)
John H. Gilman, Tom Goetzl, Keith Goldstein & Donna N. Warrington, Kathy Roberts & Aaron Loeb, Marian Scheuer Sofaer & Abraham D. Sofaer, Anonymous (2)
PRODUCERS CIRCLE ($1000-$2499)
Kellie Abreu, John Gilman & Linda Kremer, Sandra Hess, Tracy Brown and Greg Holland, Rebecca Sloss Martinez, Anonymous
PLAYWRIGHTS CIRCLE ($500-$999)
Tom Bruett, Jessica Forbess, Joseph P. Gillach, Judy & Ruben Grijalva, Ms. Kathryn A Hecht, Dr. Gary W. London, Ms. Carol Louisa Owens, Susannah Wise & Scott Lebus, Anonymous (3)
PATRON ($250-$499)
Rob Bailis, Paulette Donsavage & Deeje Cooley, Victoria Chong Der, Krystyna Finlayson, Michael Fried, Gail Hillebrand & Hugh Barroll, Jonathan Luskin & Leslie Katz, Anonymous
ASSOCIATE MEMBER ($125-$249)
Angel Adedokun, Mary E. Baird, Mr. William Bombria, Nara Dahlbacka, Victoria & Philippe Erville, Nancy K. Fishman, Steven W. Flannes, Ph.D., Ruben Grijalva, Diane and Mike Hernandez, Lara Gilman & Jim Kleinmann, Kurt & Dianne Kleinmann, Amy Kelly Lauer, Kirby Sack and Pamela Merchant, Sondra Murphy, Ms. Madeline Daly Puccioni, Geetha Reddy, Barbara Sahm and Steven Winkel, Elizabeth Wright, Anonymous (2)
Become a PlayGround contributor!
DONATE
PLAYGROUND COMPANY
PLAYGROUND WRITERS COMPANY 2020-21
Lynn Aylward, Cass Brayton+, Tom Bruett, Diana Burbano+, Madeleine Butler, Reg Clay, Rob Dario, Victoria Chong Der+, Victoria Evans Erville, Akaina Ghosh, Linda Maria Giron, Lauren Gorski, Garret Jon Groenveld+, Aaron Higareda, Sam Hurwitt, Tejahra Jacobs, Eddrick Jerome, Lisa Kang, Melissa Keith+, Anne Yumi Kobori, Molly Olis Krost, Samuel Levit, Jonathan Luskin+, Christopher Magee, Meghan Maugeri, Katie May+, Alanna McFall, Misao McGregor+, Bacilio Mendez II, Amissa Miller, Erin Marie Panttaja, Evelyn Jean Pine+, Madeline Puccioni, Annette Roman, Rebecca Schweitzer, Marissa Skudlarek, Martha Soukup, Chris Steele, Lisa Thompson, Eteya Trinidad, Leela Velautham+, Daysha Veronica+, Madison Wetzell, Christian Wilburn+, Sean Wong-Westbrooke
+ Resident Playwright
PLAYGROUND COMPANY 2020-21
Molly Aaronson-Gelb, Angel Adedokun, Patrick Alparone, Liz Anderson, Rinabeth Apostol, Michael Asberry, Michael Barrett Austin, Mary Baird, Aldo Billingslea, Giselle Boustani-Fontenele, Millie Brooks, Julia Brothers, Nicole Apostol Bruno, Lizzie Calogero, Ron Campbell, Joy Carlin, Nancy Carlin, Desdemona Chiang, Tessa Corrie, David Cramer, Will Dao, Anne Darragh, Dodds Delzell, Livia Gomes Demarchi, Carolyn Doyle, Nora el Samahy, Rebecca Ennals, Britney Frazier, Michael French, Claire Ganem, Sarah Gasser, Norman Gee, Douglas B. Giorgis, Amy Glazer, Cindy Goldfield, BW Gonzalez, Christian Haines, Margo Hall, Rosie Hallett, Daryl Anthony Harper, Eric Fraisher Hayes, Brian Herndon, Laura Humphrey, J Jha, Lyndsy Kail, Dean Koya, Danielle Levin, Jeffrey Lo, Gwen Loeb, George Maguire, Melanie Marshall, Julia McNeal, Sam Misner, Brady Morales-Woolery, Lisa Morse, Molly Noble, Karen Offereins, Soren Oliver, Joseph Patrick O’Malley, Ely Sonny Orquiza, Melissa Ortiz, Doyle Ott, June Palladino, Carla Pantoja, Louis Parnell, Jed Parsario, Michael Phillis, Rebecca Pingree, Stephanie Prentice, Virginia Reed, Cathleen Riddley, Katja Rivera, Adrian Roberts, Neiry Rojo, Stacy Ross, Adam Roy, Katie Rubin, Lindsey Marie Schmeltzer, Louel Senores, Robert Sicular, Jeunee Simon, M. Graham Smith, Ken Sonkin, Lauren Spencer, Teddy Spencer, Howard Swain, Jomar Tagatac, Emilie Talbot, Danielle Thys, Isabel To, Jon Tracy, Mark Rafael Truitt, Liam Vincent, Maryssa Wanlass, Tracy Ward, Reggie D. White, Aaron Wilton, Elena Wright
PLAYGROUND AMBASSADORS 2020-21
Aldo Billingslea (Co-Chair), Stephanie Prentice (Co-Chair), Tessa Corrie, Livia Demarchi, Britney Frazier, Cindy Goldfield, Jeffrey Lo, Gwen Loeb, George Maguire, Brady Morales-Woolery, Ely Sonny Orquiza, Melissa Ortiz, Katja Rivera, Jomar Tagatac, Aaron Wilton
PLAYGROUND STAFF
Jim Kleinmann, Co-Founder & Artistic Director
Annie Stuart, Associate Artistic Director
Aldo Billingslea, Associate Producer
Jacque Bugler, Production Manager
Brittany Mellerson, Resident Designer
Sarah Gasser, Resident Stage Manager & Assistant to the Artistic Director
Edna Mira Raia, Theatre Management Fellow
Lana Richards, Development Fellow
Chris Steele, Communications Fellow
PLAYGROUND BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Regina Guggenheim, Chair
James A. Kleinmann, President
Jerome Joseph Gentes, VP-Communications
Emilie Talbot, VP-Development
Nitin, Treasurer
Victoria Evans Erville, Secretary
William Bivins
Eleanor Clement Glass
Keith Goldstein
Rebecca Martinez
Katie May
Rondrell McCormick
Stephanie Prentice
David Steele
www.PlayGround-sf.org
3286 Adeline St #8
Berkeley, CA 94703-2485
info@playground-sf.org
(415) 992-6677